Kentucky still unanimous top choice in men's basketball poll

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kentucky is a unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press men's college basketball poll for a fourth straight week.

The Wildcats are the only unbeaten team in Division I men's play and again received all 65 first-place votes for a total of 1,625 points from a nationwide media panel.

Virginia, Gonzaga, Duke, Wisconsin, Villanova, Arizona and Kansas held their respective positions from second through eighth. Notre Dame moved up one spot into ninth and Northern Iowa rose one place to 10th.

The second 10 features Wichita State, Iowa State, Utah, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisville, Arkansas, Baylor and West Virginia. Utah dropped four places from ninth after Sunday's loss to Oregon, while Louisville tumbled five spots from 12th after a loss at Syracuse and a narrow win over Miami-Florida. The Cardinals also dismissed point guard Chris Jones from the team on Sunday.

SMU, VCU, Butler and newcomers San Diego State and Providence are the last five teams ranked. Butler dropped four spots from 19th after a Saturday loss at Xavier.

San Diego State is ranked for the first time since late December, while Providence is back in the poll for the first time since the end of the 2003-04 season.

Oklahoma State and Ohio State dropped out of this week's poll. Oklahoma State was 22nd, but lost to both Iowa State and West Virginia last week, while Ohio State was 24th and lost its only game last week on Sunday against Michigan.

This week's ranked matchups include Tuesday's Big Ten tussle between Wisconsin and Maryland in College Park and a Big East battle featuring Providence at Villanova. Baylor visits Iowa State on Wednesday and hosts West Virginia on Saturday.

Also Saturday, Missouri Valley regular-season bragging rights are on the line when Wichita State welcomes Northern Iowa, Kentucky has possibly its toughest test since early in the SEC season when Arkansas travels to Rupp Arena and Utah hosts Arizona with first place in the Pac-12 on the line.